“Okay.”
“See, I don’t want you to think I’ve been sharing your business, because I haven’t. But I have a good friend who works at a big pharmaceutical company. And he was telling me about a really promising new drug they have going into trials soon. The kind of drug that might really work wonders for your dad,” she said, tone cautiously optimistic.
“Really?” I asked, feeling hope start to build in my system.
I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.
Not after just having gotten to know him, to love him. And there was no denying that, slowly but surely, he was starting to deteriorate. He tired much easier. He’d stopped working out so much. He only worked a few days a week.
I was more worried than I could say about him. It was the big reason I was pushing for a short engagement.
I wanted him to be there.
And I knew there wasn’t a lot of time.
“I can pull some strings,” she said. “And I can get him in the trial. I can’t make any promises about how it will work.”
“No, of course not,” I agreed immediately. But it was something. A glimmer of hope in an otherwise dark situation. “I mean, I have to talk to him, but I’m sure he will want to be a part of it if he can,” I said.
All my father talked about lately was time. The lack of it, in particular. About what he didn’t want to miss. Like his grandkids. Like more holidays with me.
“I will let him know to pencil Edmund in, then if you can get back to me as soon as possible.”
“Absolutely. Tonight, even. If you are up late,” I said, feeling my eyes start to sting. “Willa, I… I can’t thank you enough for this.”
“Hey,” she said, giving me a soft smile as she reached to give my wrist a squeeze. “This is what family is for. Now dump that pasta before Gracie has a heart attack,” she said, moving away to talk to the other girls.
A few weeks later, my father started the trial.
And a few months later, well after the date the doctors said he wouldn’t live past, he was still alive and kicking, even putting on a little weight, enough that he was starting to workout again.
Dezi - 1.5 years
I still wasn’t set on the menu.
But I guess it was too late. You know, seeing as we were at the venue and the food was probably all being cooked.
“Aren’t you supposed to be nervous?” Finn asked, fussing with his suit, clearly uncomfortable in it.
I would have been too.
But Theo’s fancy-ass job meant she went to a lot of fancy-ass functions that required me to wear a suit. And her to put on these sexy fucking dresses that I couldn’t help but hike up and fuck her from behind in the bathroom of every single one of them. Well, except for that art gallery one a few weeks ago. I’d fucked her on the roof of that one.
“Nah, man. She’s the one. The fuck is there to be nervous about?” I asked. “Except my gift,” I said, checking my phone, annoyed that I hadn’t gotten an update text in a few hours.
“The trailer just pulled up,” Andi said, coming up in her white dress.
All the girls were in white.
Except Theo.
I didn’t get to see her dress, but I was going to put good money on black.
“Good,” I said, slipping in my last cufflink and then moving in the direction of the parking lot.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Seth asked. “On your wedding day,” he clarified.
“Yes,” I assured him as the baby mini goats were led out of the trailer by their little face harnesses.
They were going to be the ring bearers.
And Theo was going to fucking love it.
We already had one of the flower girls walking Rosita down the aisle. Marie, not a fan of being on her cat leash, decided to stay home and try to catch the spider that had been evading her for days.
“You know her better than me, I guess,” Seth said, shaking his head as he took the leash for one of them, and started walking him back with me.
I did.
Which was why I had scheduled it so that Theo would walk down the aisle before the ring bearers. That way, she could get a clear view of her new furry friends.
I mean, she was due.
The last animal I’d brought home had been a goose to become a guard goose for the little fluffy chicken flock.
That was for her birthday.
Months ago.
“You ready?” Seth asked, clamping a hand on my shoulder as we looked at all of our loved ones gathered around, generations of bikers and their old ladies, friends and their spouses, and a shitton of kids.
I’d never been more ready for anything in my life.